Enriching Britain : culture, creativity and growth

Through an extensive process of consultation and review of research and policy, the Warwick Commission now presents its final report as a blueprint for Britain’s cultural and creative enrichment

Embodied Discourses of Literacy in the Lives of Two Preservice Teachers

This study examines the emerging teacher literacy identities of Ian and A.J., two preservice teachers in a graduate teacher education program in the United States. Using a poststructural feminisms theoretical framework, the study illustrates the embodiment of literacy pedagogy discourses in relation to the literacy courses’ discourse of comprehensive literacy and the literacy biographical discourses of Ian and A.J. The results of this study indicate the need to deconstruct how the discourse of comprehensive literacy limits how we, as literacy teacher educators, position, hear and respond to our preservice teachers and suggests the need for differentiation in our teacher education literacy courses

Retreatment for hepatitis C virus direct-acting antiviral therapy virological failure in primary and tertiary settings: The REACH-C cohort

Virological failure occurs in a small proportion of people treated for hepatitis C virus (HCV) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies. This study assessed retreatment for virological failure in a large real-world cohort. REACH-C is an Australian observational study (n = 10,843) evaluating treatment outcomes of sequential DAA initiations across 33 health services between March 2016 to June 2019. Virological failure retreatment data were collected until October 2020. Of 408 people with virological failure (81% male; median age 53; 38% cirrhosis; 56% genotype 3), 213 (54%) were retreated once; 15 were retreated twice. A range of genotype specific and pangenotypic DAAs were used to retreat virological failure in primary (n = 56) and tertiary (n = 157) settings. Following sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir availability in 2019, the proportion retreated in primary care increased from 21% to 40% and median time to retreatment initiation declined from 294 to 152 days. Per protocol (PP) sustained virological response (SVR12) was similar for people retreated in primary and tertiary settings (80% vs 81%; p = 1.000). In regression analysis, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir (vs. other regimens) significantly decreased likelihood of second virological failure (PP SVR12 88% vs. 77%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.29; 95%CI 0.11–0.81); cirrhosis increased likelihood (PP SVR12 69% vs. 91%; AOR 4.26; 95%CI 1.64–11.09). Indigenous Australians had lower likelihood of retreatment initiation (AOR 0.36; 95%CI 0.15–0.81). Treatment setting and prescriber type were not associated with retreatment initiation or outcome. Virological failure can be effectively retreated in primary care. Expanded access to simplified retreatment regimens through decentralized models may increase retreatment uptake and reduce HCV-related mortality

Functional Traits Reveal Processes Driving Natural Afforestation at Large Spatial Scales

<div><p>An understanding of the processes governing natural afforestation over large spatial scales is vital for enhancing forest carbon sequestration. Models of tree species occurrence probability in non-forest vegetation could potentially identify the primary variables determining natural afforestation. However, inferring processes governing afforestation using tree species occurrence is potentially problematic, since it is impossible to know whether observed occurrences are due to recruitment or persistence of existing trees following disturbance. Plant functional traits have the potential to reveal the processes by which key environmental and land cover variables influence afforestation. We used 10,061 survey plots to identify the primary environmental and land cover variables influencing tree occurrence probability in non-forest vegetation in New Zealand. We also examined how these variables influenced diversity of functional traits linked to plant ecological strategy and dispersal ability. Mean annual temperature was the most important environmental predictor of tree occurrence. Local woody cover and distance to forest were the most important land cover variables. Relationships between these variables and ecological strategy traits revealed a trade-off between ability to compete for light and colonize sites that were marginal for tree occurrence. Biotically dispersed species occurred less frequently with declining temperature and local woody cover, suggesting that abiotic stress limited their establishment and that biotic dispersal did not increase ability to colonize non-woody vegetation. Functional diversity for ecological strategy traits declined with declining temperature and woody cover and increasing distance to forest. Functional diversity for dispersal traits showed the opposite trend. This suggests that low temperatures and woody cover and high distance to forest may limit tree species establishment through filtering on ecological strategy traits, but not on dispersal traits. This study shows that ‘snapshot’ survey plot data, combined with functional trait data, may reveal the processes driving tree species establishment in non-forest vegetation over large spatial scales.</p> </div

Partial contributions to Observed vs. Fitted tree occurrences within the simplified BRT model.

<p>The graphs show Observed vs. Fitted tree occurrences (A) and smoothed partial contributions within the simplified BRT model for (B) mean annual temperature (C) percentage woody cover in a 25 m radius and (D) distance to nearest forest. The smoothed partial contribution plots reflect the influence of a predictor variable when all other variables are held constant. CVROC is the cross-validated receiver operator curve (ROC) for the final boosted regression tree model. ROC is a measure of discrimination accuracy when predicting a binary response.</p

Map of predicted tree occurrence probability in non-forest vegetation in New Zealand.

<p>The map shows model-predicted probability of tree occurrence in non-forest vegetation (the ‘other’ and ‘subalpine scrub’ classes of Dymond and Shepherd [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0075219#B58" target="_blank">58</a>]) in New Zealand. Grey areas are covered by indigenous (from [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0075219#B58" target="_blank">58</a>]) and planted forest (from Land Cover Database 2).</p

Map of survey plots used in boosted regression tree modeling.

<p>Vegetation classes for New Zealand survey plots are mapped based on a reclassification of Dymond and Shepherd [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0075219#B58" target="_blank">58</a>]. ‘Other’ is all non-forest vegetation except subalpine scrub.</p